Have you ever been a "Season of Sin?" I can be honest and say without question, I have. I wish it were different, but to be truthful there have been several times throughout my life where I became totally engrossed in my selfishness and wandered away from my home with God, much like the prodigal son, choosing to wallow with the pigs. The end of 2014 thru late this past spring was one of those times for me. After over a decade of freedom from several addictions I had struggled with for years, late last year I fell and allowed the door to be opened to these addictions once more. You would think I would learn.

Early one morning after a night of indulging in my selfishness, filled with guilt and shame, I was in bed crying because of what I had done "yet again" and while scrolling through Facebook I came across the video below. The video (original is 8 minutes in length) is of a boy that had been buried beneath the rubble of a bomb blast in Syria and shows his family and fellow villagers frantically digging with their bare hands to save the boy. To say that the boy survived is nothing short of a miracle. As I was laying there watching this, God spoke to me as clearly as I have ever heard before. He said "Son, that boy is you." I immediately began to cry bitterly. It was if in a millisecond the Holy Spirit showed me what God meant in what He had just spoken to me. He showed me that I had been in a spiritual war for some time and that I was the boy trapped beneath the rubble of sin which surrounded, pressed in, and engulfed me. Just like the boy, I was helpless to move, suffocating, and my hope was all but Gone. The Holy Spirit then showed me how desperate the boys father was to save his son and the lengths he went to to save him, digging with his bare hands through the rubble to get to him. There was no stopping him, he would save his son. As the son was slowly dug out and more and more of the boy began to emerge from the rubble, they did not immediately pull him out as not to damage him or risk hurting him further. They worked diligently but were gentle and caring at the same time, just as God is. As his face and head were free they wiped the dust and gravel off of his face to allow him to see. And what was it that the boy saw? His fathers Hands! The saving, gentle, cleansing, and assuring Beautiful Hands of his father were the first sight he saw. What a miracle. The boy was saved and in his fathers arms once again. Can you imagine? I can. I am that boy. I knew that it may not be instantly, just as in the video but that my God's Beautiful Hands were there to save me and that they would.

After seeing the video, I knew that I had to write the story of that song and that God would use that to speak to others just as He had used it to speak to me. Several months later I was invited to be one of about 40 Worship Writers from across North America for the Kingdom Songs Writing Retreat in Franklin, TN. To say that I was humbled to be among some of the very best professional Worship writers and leaders in the country is a MASSIVE understatement. I can truly say that weekend will forever be one of the single greatest weekends of my life. The first day we were paired with two or three attendees and a professional to write a song with. INCREDIBLE!!! The second day we were randomly paired up with two other attendees. God knew what he was doing. I was paired with Jamie Nunnaly and Will Walker. I had briefly met Jamie the day before but had not met Will until then. After exchanging pleasantries and sharing a little about ourselves, we began to discuss what we were going to write. I jumped at the chance right off and asked if I could share and idea. I told them my story of recently falling back into my struggle with addictions and asked if I could show them the video? They allowed me, and after showing them the video and telling them of what God had spoke to me through it, I said "I want to write the story of that video through Gods eyes." To my surprise, they both agreed and began spouting out ideas. I had come with several lines of lyrics prepared and Jamie and Will took off. It truly was one of the most anointed writing sessions I have ever been a part of. We were literally finishing each others lines and sentences. All God! I don't think it was more than an hour before we had the whole song written with a complete melody. We spent about another hour tweaking the melody before we recorded a rough demo. There is zero doubt in my mind and no coincidence I was to be paired with Jamie and Will that Saturday. The following is and Acoustic Demo of the song:

Most everyone who knows me well knows that I don't have much of a filter and that I am quite bold in every sense of the word. When we initially recorded the song at the retreat there were three of us and we sang it in what was an attempt from my part for three part harmony. Jamie and Will were spot on, me not so much. Anyway, it sounded incredible with three voices and we immediately said that we could hear Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing this. Well, I am bold enough to ask if anyone reading or seeing this knows Phillps, Craig, or Dean please show them the video and tell them the story. I believe God wants them to hear it.

I pray that this song and video will bring hope to someone who feels trapped and hopeless as I was buried beneath what seems like a mountain of sin. I have been free from my addictions now for a little over two months. It didn't happen immediately, just as the boy in the video was not lifted out of the rubble immediately. It took some time and I hit the rock bottom point of my life, but it is through that I have been brought to my knees and I am forever thankful for the tender, gentle, "Beautiful Hands" of my God who rescued me. I will proclaim His name until my last breath and I will continue to be free in doing it. "His Beautiful Hands Reached Down to Me, Rescued My heart and set me Free! His Beautful Hands, His Beautiful Hands."

All Love In Christ!

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